To Help or Not to Help

I believe that compassion is an innate characteristic of human beings. We all have the desire to think of the welfare of other people and act to others’ benefit. However, unfortunate life experiences compel us to think twice before performing good deeds.

Sadly, there are individuals who fail to see the value of other people. No matter how hard we try to make them feel that they are being cared for, they lack the decency of showing gratitude or worse, fail to recognize the moments when we became selfless and put the interest and safety of others before ours.

There are also others who think that lending a helping hand voluntarily tantamounts to meddling with other people’s lives and should not, in any circumstance, be exhibited. Many may disagree, but as a Christian and a believer of God, I deem it as my responsibility to do what I think is right and help other people, especially for my family and friends whom I hold dear to my heart, solicited or otherwise.

I’d like to quote scripture for you to understand where I am coming from:

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

— James 4:17

I say involvement in another person’s life may be deemed as meddling depending on the purpose and the intention of the act. If an individual has the uncorrupted objective to genuinely help another person, it is an act of kindness and a manifestation of a pure heart.

A couple of bad experiences will not hinder me from doing what is good and what is right. I will continue to care for other people and do things without expecting anything in return. I’ve learned that although compassion may be an innate characteristic, gratefulness is not. And some are naturally arrogant.